In Turkmenistan you can meet some of the friendliest
people on the Silk Road with all their diversity, humour
and superstition. Enjoy exceptional Turkmen hospitality
as a visitor during tea, show respect at a Huday-Yoly
meal or become a family friend at a joyful wedding. Talk
to pilgrims at their holy shrines and share their bread,
givings and wishes. Bargain with the colourfully dressed
women at the bazaars and mingle with elders and children
at a horserace. Join the special occasion of a circumcision,
the Sunnet Toy. Understand unique people in their beautiful
homeland and in their culture.

Erbent oasis
has preserved many of the traditional nomadic customs
and handicraft throughout the centuries. Watch the Teke
villagers prepare a traditional Chynar-patterned felt,
see how the wool is combed and beaten and help the women
with their tremendous work. Watch the firing of the Tamdyr-Oven
to bake the dark bread common in rural areas and join
the milking of the dromedary camels to make Chal, the
traditional fermented Camel milk. Take part in the set
up of the summer Ak-Oy yurts together with the villagers
and learn the significance of the amulets and protective
Alaja strings used in this centre of everyday nomads life.

Erbent
can be visited in a day trip from Ashgabat or en route
to Northern Turkmenistan being a 3 hour drive north of
Ashgabat. You can also spend the night in a yurt or in
a traditional Chaykhana teahouse. Request
more info here

Turkmen
silk and embroidery are outstanding within Central Asia,
with each different pattern identifying the clan and tribe
of its artist like a family seal. You can watch the entire
process of Keteni Silk making on a visit to a silk-making
family. The raw silk is dyed with natural and artificial
dyes, threaded and with the help of family and neighbours
prepared and woven into colourful, hard 30 cm wide silk
used for the dresses worn by Turkmen women on special
occasions.Visit a traditional home where Teke girls are
stitching silk Yaka Embroidery for the national women
dress and the Chirpy Overcoats mainly worn by elder women
of all tribes as head covering.

You can visit friendly carpeting, silk weaving and embroidery
stitching families on a half-day trip in Ashgabat or most
other cities. In spring you can also take part in the
actual raw silk making from the cocoons of the silk worms.
Request
more info hereNokhur

Nokhur
is an extraordinary culture and region in the western
Kopetdag range. With almost Indian indo-european features
and very entrepreneurial life-style this tribe has preserved
a unique tradition of handicrafts and architecture in
their villages. Outstanding carpentry and unusual stone-houses
are characteristic for their hillside villages amidst
picturesque pomegranate and almond orchards. Experience
extraordinary hospitality and stroll through the tiny
alleyways of the villages.

4 hours west of Ashgabat, Nokhur should be visited on
an extended day-trip with a stay at a local family. Book
here.